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NOTTINGHAM, England – A British teenager is slowly emerging from a coma nearly a year after being hit by a car, and he has no knowledge of the coronavirus pandemic even though he has caught the virus twice.
Joseph Flavill, 19, suffered a head injury when he was hit by the car in the town of Burton-on-Trent, central England, on March 1 last year, around three weeks before a first national lockout was imposed to curb the spread of the virus.
During this time, his family have largely been unable to be near and hold his hand due to coronavirus restrictions, mainly trying to communicate with him via video link.
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“Recently Joseph has started showing little signs of recovery which we are delighted with … now we know he can hear us, he responds to small orders,” his aunt, Sally Flavill, told Reuters .
“When we say to him ‘Joseph, we cannot be with you, but you are safe, it will not be forever’, he understands, he hears you, he just cannot communicate,” she said, adding that it has now reported “yes” with one blink and “no” with two blinks.
Since Joseph’s accident, Britain has recorded nearly four million cases of Covid-19, including more than 110,000 deaths, in a pandemic that has changed lives around the world, shutting down schools, universities, stores and many other places.
“I don’t know how Joseph will ever understand our stories of this lockdown,” his aunt said, adding that he was still very ill and faced a “very, very long journey” back to some sort of normal life.
Joseph, who before the accident was an avid sportsman, is now receiving treatment at a healthcare facility in Stoke-on-Trent, central England, and his family have started a fundraising campaign to help his long-term recovery.
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